The Mother who Abandoned Us
by Snoring Tiger
Summary: Edward and Alphonse finally discover who their mother really is...but how ready are they to accept her with open arms? Rated T cos...well, just in case.
1. Chapter 1

For once, a deathly silence loomed over the office belonging to Colonel Roy Mustang and his men and been since the morning. Edward and Alphonse were oblivious to the silence as they were in great depth of their research and weren't paying attention to their surroundings. Even if they did notice the silence, they wouldn't understand why there was any, even if it did concern them.

Mustang sighed and looked up at the clock which must've been ticking double as slow today, because it only read three in the afternoon. He cautiously looked at the worried expression etched in his lieutenant's face which had been there all day. He decided to break the silence. "Men, you're dismissed early today. I'll be leaving in a couple of minutes." Sighing in relief, Havoc, Falman, Breda and Fuery rushed out of the room. They were told the news this morning, and didn't exactly want to hang around when it was revealed to the Elric brothers.

When his men left the office, making sure the Elric brothers couldn't hear him, he slid a note to Hawkeye.

_Do you want me to stay with you?_

_Roy_

She only smiled sadly at his note and wrote back:

_**I think I can handle it on my own, sir.**_

_**Riza**_

Roy picked up his belongings and said in a loud voice"I'm leaving now, Fullmetal and Alphonse. Lock the door when you leave, okay?" Edward still stubbornly kept his face buried in his book, so Alphonse just waved to the colonel, showing he heard him. Mustang carefully shut the door behind him.

There was silence for a few minutes. Riza wasn't sure how she would say it, but because Edward was oblivious to hints, she'd just have to outright tell them. Damn, she wasn't looking forward saying it either. But it was now or never in her mind.

"Edward, Alphonse…I have something to tell you that I really think you need to know." Both of their heads snapped up and looked at her when they picked up the worry in her voice. "Yeah…" Edward replied, clueless.

"I don't know an easy way to say this, and you'll probably hate me for this…" She stopped mid-sentence and clenched her fists. Alphonse went up to her and stroked her back. "We could never hate you, besides you can tell us anything." Riza smiled at him.

"Have you ever noticed Edward that we have the same shape of eyes?" Riza suddenly asked Edward. He thought for a second before shaking his head then saying "You're right…" She then turned to Alphonse. "Alphonse, when you were younger, your fringe was similar to mine, except on the other side right?" He only stared at her before saying "How do you know that? Have you seen pictures of us from back then?" She shook her head and muttered "Just as I thought." She sighed. "No-one has had the heart to tell you boys, but I guess I should, you deserve to know. Trisha Elric…the disease she got which took her life…was a genetic disease, one which weakens the immune system greatly. True, it showed up at the same time of the illness in Risembool, but she didn't die because of that. You boys, thankfully, didn't get her disease." Edward's eyes widened and Alphonse began to visibly shake, making his chair wobble.

"The reason you didn't get her genetic disease, is because…Trisha wasn't your mother… I am." She had to shut her eyes when she said this, and her fists began to shake. Splashes of water fell on to her military uniform at a rapid rate. She daren't open her eyes for a few minutes, and when she did she saw Alphonse staring at her and Edward staring furiously into his tightly clenched gloved knuckles. Alphonse slowly spoke first. "…You…our mother?" She nodded. Alphonse sat there for a few seconds before he went up to her and gently hugged her so he wouldn't squish her with his armor. "I'm so glad…that if it can't be her, it's you." Riza sat there for a few seconds before hugging her youngest son back.

"I used to admire you…" Edward muttered. His hands were now shaking. He wanted to deny her statements, not believe what she said and be decepted from the truth if it meant not feeling what he was feeling now. But the lieutenant would never lie about a tough subject to them, and he secretly heard Pinako once say on the phone that Trisha's disease was genetic. So there was only one option…

"But then, you had to say that…WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE FOR US DAMNIT!" He screamed, standing up yet looking at nobody in particular. "HOHENHEIM LEFT US WHEN WE WERE SO YOUNG! SHE WORKED SO HARD TO LOOK AFTER US ON HER OWN AND SHE WAS AN AMAZING MOTHER TO US, ALWAYS CARING FOR ME AND AL! YOU JUST STAYED AWAY FROM US WITHOUT EVEN TRYING TO CONTACT US! WHEN SHE DIED, YOU NEVER SHOWED UP! YOU JUST LEFT US, ASSUMING WE WERE OKAY! WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE FOR US? WHY DID YOU ABANDON US RIZA! CAN YOU AT LEAST ANSWER THAT FOR ME?" Her eyes automatically strayed from his face and tears clouded her amber eyes again. "Because…I was scared that you reject me after Trisha, worried you would hate me…"

"WELL IT SURE AS HELL DOESN'T HELP TELLING US FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER AL WAS BORN DOES IT?" Ed shouted. Only Alphonse could see his brother's eyes filled with the same emotions they were on the day of Trisha's funeral. Sorrow clouded his eyes faintly, anger was writhing around and his eyes were shinier than they usually were.

"I...I know. I don't think it means anything to you, but I am so, so sorry. I never could've imagined you would've been through all you have and seen worse sights than some soldiers at Ishval. You don't know how much I've been watching over you, helping you from a distance. Whenever I would try to tell you, my own fear held me back like a child."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT! MY POINT IS THAT YOU WEREN'T THERE FOR US WHEN WE NEEDED YOU THE MOST SO WHAT'S THE POINT OF YOU BEING IN MY LIFE WHEN I DON'T NEED YOU! Al, are you staying with her? Are you going to accept her?" Ed's tone was just as harsh speaking to Alphonse, but he lowered his voice. After a few seconds of silence Al replied "Our mother left us four years ago. I hate to admit it, but I've forgotten the joy of having a mother can be like. It's different for you, you're stronger than me and you have your body. All I have are my memories. I've forgotten what our mother felt like and smelt like, and I miss it brother. I may not be able to feel her, but if I can have a chance to re-feel a mother's love…" Alphonse didn't finish the sentence, not because he didn't need to, but to spare his brother the pain from hearing the words he knew out loud. Edward looked at his brother, and muttered "After all Trisha did for us…how dare you." Edward turned around and began to walk out of the room. "Brother!" Alphonse called but Edward only replied "I'm going on my Alphonse. If you honestly need to see me I'll be in the dorms." Thankfully Edward was too busy wiping his clouded eyes to see Mustang crouching by the door. Mustang quickly shot up and placed a reassuring hand on Edward's back.

"So I guess she's told you then." He spoke softly, rubbing the boy's back.

"Why the hell should you care? Wait…you're not my dad are you?" Edward asked in horror, wiping his eyes quickly and with as much dignity as he could. Mustang removed his hand from Edward's back.

"No way! If you were you'd be doing Flame Alchemy by now...Edward…I don't think she was able to tell you in there, but the reason you were made my subordinate is because she insisted that she stays near to you." He turned on his superior and gave him such a painful glare it hurt Mustang to look at it.

"So I'm guessing you're on her side too then." He bitterly stated.

"Alphonse…did he-?"

"He accepted her, yes." Edward sighed. He ran off to his dorm room, leaving the colonel standing there on his own.

_God damnit, I knew it would happen like this. It must be hard for him to accept her suddenly. Better check on her and Alphonse in any case then._ Mustang slowly opened the doors and saw Riza staring absently into space with Alphonse tying to reassure her. When she noticed Mustang was in the room, she straightened up. Everyone in the room both knew she wasn't fooling anyone with her fake smile- teardrops were soaked into her uniform and streaked down her cheeks.

"I just spoke with Edward outside…he'll come around eventually Riza." Mustang comforted her. Alphonse nodded. "It's true, he has trouble trusting adults, so this is a big shock for him…I'll speak to him later if you want me too." Riza merely nodded. "Alphonse, how did you accept me so easily?" She asked him.

"Because you've always been like a mother figure to me, so it wasn't that hard. Sure, I'm a little upset but I'm glad you told us anyway." Alphonse slowly replied. Seeing that the mother and son needed time, Mustang left the room, leaving the two of them to talk together and to make family ties.

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_This plot bunny has been gnawing at my brain for ages! This chapter is kind of all over the place, isn't it? I wanted to make this longer, but I promise the next few chapters will be longer. R&R?_

_Fma crusher xx_


	2. Chapter 2

"After all we've been through...you're going to leave me? Even without your body restored...for her?" Edward spat the words out of his mouth, and abandoned his younger brother in the hallway outside of the colonel's office. He ripped the door open and slammed it behind him, not caring for the looks that his colleagues threw at him. No-one dared to speak to him as he plonked himself down onto the sofa and lied down, staring at the bland white ceiling. Luckily for Edward, Hawkeye wasn't in the office at that moment or he would've blown up the building in his anger.

Mustang walked into the main office after hearing something sound like it broke. He walked in finding Edward staring at the ceiling, a bunch of confused looks on his subordinate's faces and a door that was barely staying on its hinges. Mustang sighed and pulled Edward up and dragged the angry and confused boy into his office. He shut the door carefully behind him, and firmly told Edward to sit down. Edward's face was red, his eyes had bags under them and they lacked the brightness they used to have. Of course Mustang knew what was bothering Edward, but he needed to get it out of the stubborn boy first."What happened last night Edward?" Edward's tired face shot up and glared at the colonel.

"What the hell makes you think something happened bastard?" Mustang sceptically looked at the angry teen sitting in his office.

"For one, your face looks like crap Fullmetal, even worse than usual. Two, yesterday you found out who your real mother was which is an emotional experience for anyone and three you and brother stand at different places as to what you think of Riza."

"Hey I don't look like crap!" Edward then looked into the mirror and saw his dreary face glaring back at him then he shut up. "Al...He told me this morning that he'll be staying with...her." Edward still couldn't yet bear referring to Riza by her name. Mustang must've looked shocked because Edward asked "What's with that face?"

"You and Alphonse have been together looking to restore your bodies for years..." Mustang trailed off, looking at Edward, who nodded.

"He told me he wants to get to know his mother better. I don't think he's trying to hurt me but at the moment he feels like a damn traitor. Not that you care." Edward made for the door, but Mustang snapped his fingers to get Edward's attention (he wasn't wearing his spark gloves).

"I wouldn't have brought you in here if I didn't care about all three of you. Where's Alphonse now?" Mustang firmly asked, determined to make the stubborn boy see sense.

"I dunno. I left him out in the corridor after he told me. Just look for where _she _is and I'll be damned if he isn't with her." Mustang, hearing all he needed to, grabbed Edward's auto mail and dragged him out of the office. Havoc looked up questionably at the colonel, who shook his head which meant he'd explain later.

They walked down a hallway and they walked to an office which hadn't been used for a few years. Edward instantly yanked his hand back, glaring at the colonel. "What're we doing outside an un-used office bastard?" Edward asked.

"Trust me." Mustang opened the door, and as they both walked in, they saw Riza and Alphonse sitting together talking. Both of them looked at the doorway when they heard it open. Edward, ignoring Riza completely, asked Alphonse "Are you serious about not wanting to stay with me? What about your body Alphonse? It's all my fault you're stuck in that suit or armour, why won't you let me fix things?"

"I don't want to leave you...yet I don't want to leave our mother either...I don't know what to do to be honest brother." Alphonse whispered. Alphonse was only about three years old when his father left them and he was nine when his mother died. He couldn't remember that well what is was like to have a proper home filled with a mother and a father. Even if he could only have half of that, he wanted to re-live it so badly. Then there was his brother. They had travelled and researched for the Philosopher's Stone for so long and they had to learn that they could really only rely on each other. He just wanted everyone to be a family, but that wouldn't happen.

"Why are you trying to brush me off so readily for someone who's never been there for us!" Edward sternly asked his brother, who didn't back down.

"I'm not trying to brush anybody away! I just want to be with my whole family, I'm trying to make everyone be together brother!"

"Al-"

"We've learnt to only look out for each other and not depend on others! I miss not only being on our own! Yes, I still want to search for a way to restore our bodies, but why can't Riza still be a part of our lives?"

"Goddamnit Alphonse, you're more naive then when you met Clara. You were deceived by her so easily and thought she was a good person just cos she said she was! _Riza's _doing the same thing to you!"

Riza suddenly stood up. "Alphonse, Edward listen to me! Don't you dare fight because of me! Edward's right, I did leave you alone and I don't deserve to have your love and acceptance yet. Alphonse, if you're only worried about not wanting to hurt me, stay with your brother. There is no way in hell I want to suspend your research. You'll still be able to see me here." She turned to Edward, who stubbornly turned away from her.

"Edward, thank you for looking out for Alphonse. I understand completely why you don't trust me and I'm not going to force you to accept me, that'll just make more friction between us. Just keep on doing what you like, even if it means hating my entity, until we're both ready."

Edward snorted. "I planned on doing so anyway." He turned to find the colonel had left the family long ago.

"Damnit Mustang, why the hell do you keep running away?" Edward mumbled.

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_Yes this is a short chapter, please don't hate me! If you think any of the characters are OOC, you are more than welcome to tell me :)_

_Fma crusher xx_


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but this fic is definitely AU. If you really want to get scientific with this fic, I already know the dates don't add up. Which is why it's AU :P Also, please don't flame me for the couple in this!**

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"Riza...I've been wanting to ask you something." Alphonse hesitantly told Riza. The two of them were privately sitting in a spare office to talk. Riza wanted to explain something to the younger Elric, knowing that he could pass the message onto Edward. "What is it?" She asked back.

"Why did you leave me and brother? And who is our father? I can't imagine you and Hoenheim being together." Riza laughed at Alphonse's last sentence. "No, Hoenheim isn't your biological father. But why I had to give up you two boys and who your father is can be told in the same story."

**_RIZA'S STORY_**

_FLASHBACK 15 YEARS AGO_

_An eighteen year old Riza was lying down on a beige sofa, rubbing her stomach. She had some very important news that she needed to say. The person she was waiting for walked into the room carrying two mugs of coffee. He put both the cups down and gently pushed Riza up. She took one of the cups from the coffee table and took quick sip before putting the cup down._

"_I need to tell you something." She started to rub her stomach again. Without waiting for a response she told the man "I'm pregnant again." He kissed her cheek and jumped up shouting "That's wonderful! Let me get my camera!"_

"_Calm down Maes." Riza laughed, hitting him with one of the sofa cushions. He sat down and put an arm around his girlfriend. "So is it a girl or a boy?" Riza sighed. "I have no idea, but I hope it's another boy so Edward can have a little brother." _

"_Have you heard anything from Trisha about Edward?" Maes asks._

"_He's learning to walk now apparently but can crawl fast. He also is slightly small for his age but it's nothing serious. I guess we'll go visit them to ask if it's okay for our new baby to live there as well." Riza thought out loud. Maes nodded. "It'll be good to see Edward again."_

"_We'll leave tomorrow to go to Risembool." Riza said._

_AT RISEMBOOL_

_Hesitating, Riza knocked on the door to Trisha's house. A baby could be heard laughing inside the house, and hearing it made Riza and Maes smile. A lady with brown hair opened the door and looked surprised to see who was at the door._

"_Hello again you two. How can I help you?" Trisha greeted them into the house and led them into the house. They sat down at the kitchen table. Edward crawled into the room laughing, and lifting his arms in the air he was put on Trisha's lap. He had big gold eyes which stared curiously at the two people sitting on the other side of the table. _

"_He's a joy to have around the house." Trisha smiled fondly, ruffling Edward's tuft of hair, making him giggle in delight. "So, how can I help you two?" She smiled warmly at the couple._

"_Well...I'm pregnant again." Riza admitted, rubbing her belly which was starting to show signs of pregnancy. Trisha clapped her hands and laughed. "That's wonderful, congratulations!" There was silence for a couple of seconds before Trisha continued "So my guess is that you want me to look after the baby after it's born?"_

_Maes nodded. "It would be good if the siblings are kept together. Besides, with the Ishval situation, me or Riza can get sent to the battlefield at any time." Trisha nodded. "I wouldn't like your new baby to be left without a home and Edward should be with his younger sibling. I've decided, I'd love to look after the new baby when it's born." Riza and Maes both smiled. "Thank you so much." Riza told Trisha who smiled back._

_ONE YEAR LATER_

_Walking to the Elric residence, Riza was carrying a baby boy in her arms. Maes was already sent to Ishval a few weeks earlier, and Riza knew it would only be a matter of time before she would be ordered to go too. They both decided on the name Alphonse for their second child. Giving her baby one final hug, she knocked on the door. _

_Trisha opened it at once and smiled sadly at Riza. "You're going too?"_

_"I'm going in a week. The baby's name is Alphonse, please look after him well." She handed Trisha the baby, who hugged her 'new' child. _

_"Please promise me Trisha that when the boys are older that you can tell them about me and Maes." Riza whispered. Trisha put a hand on Riza's shoulder, holding the baby with the other hand against her hip. _

_"I wouldn't have it any other way." Riza turned around and walked away, not sure how long she could go without crying._

_END RIZA'S STORY_

"So that's the story. A week after you were placed in the care of Trisha I was sent to Ishval to fight. But before Hughes was sent he broke up with me, saying that he loved Gracia more, but that he still loved his children. I can't blame him, at least he was honest. I always wanted to visit you boys, but something stopped me, I don't know what. I guess I was scared of seeing you call Trisha mother instead of me. Also because Hughes was father to both of you, you and Edward are biological brothers." Riza concluded her story. She stayed silent for a few minutes so Al could process all of this information.

"So, Hughes and you were a couple?" Alphonse asked, confused. "I thought if anything, it would be you and Mustang!" Riza smiled. "Although Mustang doesn't admit it, he is a lot like Hughes. I wouldn't be able to be with Mustang, especially now that Hughes is demised. Besides, the Colonel is too cocky for my liking." She said coolly.

"Hughes is our biological father. So that's why he cared so much about us." Alphonse thought out loud to himself. "That explains a lot; also why he loved Elysia so much and was protective of her. He didn't want to lose her too." Riza watched him talk to himself. "I'm sure he would've been like that with you boys too." She told Alphonse.

"So, is it possible for you to tell the story to Edward for me? He needs to know the truth but he won't listen to me as you can guess." Riza almost pleaded her younger son. Alphonse nodded. "Of course I will." He got up to leave. "Alphonse! You're not angry with me?" She asked him. Alphonse turned around. "Instead of giving us to an orphanage you left us with mo-Trisha. That proves to me that you did care." Alphonse shut the door slowly behind him, leaving Riza to sit in the room with her thoughts.

As Alphonse walked outside he could see Edward standing by the door with his arms crossed. "Brother, what are you doing here?" Alphonse asked. Edward scowled. "To pick you up. We need to go back to Risembool, my auto mail arm's broken. I won't tell you what happened, but it involves a spatula, a piece of string and a certain colonel who was on a sugar rush." He lifted his arm up and indeed it looked broken, with wires hanging out of the arm which were making sizzling noises. It was even worse than usual. They slowly walked back to the dorms in silence. Then Alphonse decided to ask his brother:

"While you were outside did you hear Riza's story?"

Edward stopped walking for a second and nodded his head subtly. Edward found no point in lying to his brother. "So then you know that she cares for us?" Alphonse asked. Edward muttered "She cared when we were babies, not now we're grown up." The conversation stopped there.

"Why can't we just ring Winry and ask her to come here to fix your auto mail?" Alphonse struck up conversation again. Alphonse didn't like the idea of leaving Central so soon. Edward, looking straight ahead replied "I'm sure she's busy enough as it is. Besides, I want to ask Pinako a couple of questions."

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_Yet another bad ending to this chapter, I'm getting bad at it -.- Do you guys want me to do a shorter chapter which explains how Edward thinks about Riza now or do you want me to continue with the story? Say which you prefer in the reviews._

_Fma crusher xx_


	4. Chapter 4

_Right, so this is how Edward feels at the moment about Riza and his parents. It's shorter than usual though because I suck at monologues. Enjoy!_

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It's amazing how much your world can change in the space of a week. I found out who my biological parents are. Considering I never had my parents for a long time it was shocking to me to really find out who they were. To be honest, at the moment I don't really know what to think...

I miss the mother we had when me and Al were kids- that's one of the things that is bothering me. Trisha wasn't our real mum but she still took care of us.

I don't know whether to call her Trisha or mother.

Anyway, Trisha really loved us and she cared for us. After that bastard left us, she had to take care of two children by herself-and let's just say that Al and I weren't the best of children at times. Yet she still cared for us and made us feel loved. We both loved her back too. When we were children, she was the only person who could make me try and drink milk, that is how much I loved her. Even when she was sick she never told us as she didn't want to scare us and she still continued to be there for us. She was an amazing person.

Finding out that she isn't my mother is a bit tough as you can now imagine.

I would never have guessed though that Maes Hughes was my father though. We barely look anything alike! Looking back at the times though, he did always come to visit Alphonse and I when we were in hospital after Lab 5. He always told us to pay him a visit, or to phone him. He was trying to fill the father role that me and Al needed. I always wondered why he was constantly showing off Elysia and taking pictures of her all the time now. He already had to give up two of his children, and now he had his third he didn't want to lose her. I do wish that he was there for me after Hoenheim left us. He would have played with us, yet still be a caring, responsible father. Elysia was lucky to have a father like that in her life.

Speaking of Elysia, doesn't that make her my half-sister now? Considering we share the same father, me and Alphonse now officially have a little half sister! Thinking about it, when we were younger, Alphonse looked a little bit like what Elysia does now (the shape of the eyes and hair colour). Guess we really are her big brothers smart kid for always saying so.

Back onto topic. Riza. My biological mother. I have no idea how to feel about her at the moment. Before she told me, I used to hold great respect for the Lieutenant. I admired her loyalty to the Colonel and her shooting abilities. She was one of the few people that I still looked up to after all that's happened to me and Al. All that admiration and respect I had for her disappeared the moment she told me she was my mother. You could use Alphonse's logic that we shouldn't be too mad at her because she did tell us, regardless about how she felt, but here's my argument:

How pleased would you be if you found out your real mother just gave you away and never told you the truth when you saw her frequently? Riza never came to visit us or keep in contact with us, and she just abandoned us. To be honest, I'm angry at Hughes also for just abandoning his sons, but at least when we joined the military he tried to be there for us by helping us research the Philosopher's Stone-he _tried _to make it up to us without telling us about our blood relations. Riza said she couldn't bear to tell us so she kept her distance, but Hughes managed fine. Why couldn't she?

But I know in my heart, deep, _deep _down in my heart that I probably will be able to forgive her eventually if she starts acting like a mother should to her sons. At the moment, I'm still trying to accept the news but that surprise will wear off soon. Another part of me which is stopping me, as it does with other issues, is my damn pride. I probably have more pride then, well Pride. Even if she does start acting like a mother to us, for a while my pride wouldn't let me forgive her. I guess I'm still like a child, with my pride making me hold grudges.

Earlier I sounded angry at Al for accepting her almost straight away, but in hindsight I can understand now, why he did. He's stuck in literally a metal shell. He once told me that we've been together for so long but he's forgotten what my skin feels like. I bet you anything he's forgotten how soft our mother's skin was, and what she used to smell like (lavender). I also have a feeling he's forgotten what having a parent's love can be like. I feel bad for being mad at him before, because I still have my body and can remember what he can't. To be clear, I don't hate Alphonse for wanting to bond with our real mother. He has every right to, and I can't stop him.

Thinking about all of this, I guess I should slightly apologise to Hoenheim. I mean, for what happened when we met at Trisha's grave stone. I was constantly shouting at him and insulting him. Well, he did deserve it for leaving us so long ago, but he isn't my real father, no matter how alike we look. So I only apologise for being rude to him, but he still left us, so he'll remain a bastard in my heart for that.

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_Hope that clears up any questions you guys had!_

_AEW Alchemist_


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Granny, they're back! Hey! Ed and Al are back!" Winry called to her grandmother, as she rushed down the stairs to open the door and greet the two Elrics. She opened the door, and to her surprise she found that Ed's auto mail was more broken than she had _ever _seen it before. Wires were hanging out of it which she never thought could actually happen. She was about to hit him on the head with her wrench, but then she realised that Edward's face actually looked quite serious, more so than it usually did.

"Hey Winry!" Alphonse greeted her. She smiled back at him before looking at Edward.

"Ed, is everything alright? Apart from the arm?" She asked him. He looked up and put on a smile even she could tell was fake and nodded his head in a fake aura of happiness.

"Yup! Can you fix up my arm, it's kinda messed up. Also, is Granny here? We need to talk to her about something." Edward asked. She tilted her head to one side.

"Yeah she's here. But why do you need to speak to her? Come in though, before it gets too cold." All of them walked into the house and into the living room, where Edward put his auto mail arm on the table that he always did for tune-ups and Al sat on the sofa.

"Do you want to speak to Granny now?" Winry asked. Edward looked at Alphonse for a few seconds before nodding. "That would be good Win. Thanks."

"Sure, gimme a second." Winry left the room to go and retrieve her grandmother from the kitchen, and in a couple of minutes Pinako was carefully examining Edward's arm.

"You've really messed it up this time Edward. How did you do this?" Pinako asked, chuckling. Edward grimaced at the memory.

"It involves a spatula and a piece of string." He awkwardly replied before asking "Granny, me and Al need to talk to you. Winry, you can hear this too."

"Okay." Winry sat down on the sofa to hear what they had to say.

"Granny...do you know about Trisha?" Alphonse asked timidly.

"What about her?" Pinako asked back.

"About her...and Riza..."Alphonse asked hesitantly.

"Riza? Wasn't she the lady who came with the colonel to speak to Ed?" Winry asked. Both of the boys nodded. Pinako turned to look at Al.

"To answer your question, yes I do know about what happened between them two. When did you boys find out?"

"About...nearly two weeks ago." Edward replied.

"What're you guys talking about?" Winry asked impatiently. Pinako sighed, and stopped tinkering with Edward's arm. "There's no point trying to fix that arm of yours now when we're talking about something like this. Let's go to the table to talk about this."

They all got up and walked over to the kitchen table, Edward and Alphonse sitting on one side, Winry and Pinako on the other side. After ten minutes of explaining (mostly done by Alphonse, Edward stubbornly stared at the dull ceiling), Winry was informed of what was happening to her child hood friends and happened in the past.

"Wow...so Trisha, she wasn't...and Riza...and Hughes..." Winry said quietly. Edward nodded. Pinako sharply turned to face the brothers.

"Edward, Alphonse, I know you don't want to think about this, but about your human transmu-"

"Granny. It's okay. Al and I both agree that while she wasn't our biological mother, we still had the mother and son bond with her and we love her. So as she was a mother figure to us, I don't regret the transmutation. _Obviously _because of the loss of our bodies I regret what we did, but for who we performed it on, we don't regret that." Edward explained to Pinako and Winry, Alphonse nodding. Winry's eyes were threatening tears after hearing Edward speak.

"Winry, you don't need to cry." Alphonse tried to soothe the girl (they all knew Edward had not even the faintest glimmer of hope of successfully cheering her up).

"I know, but it's just so...so sad! After everything you two went through because of your bodies and now this." She mumbled, scared of crying. Edward smiled at her.

"There's no reason to worry Winry. It's okay, the situation's kind of been sorted." Edward told her. She glared at him while wiping away threatening tears. "What do you mean _kind of?"_

"Yes, I think I'd like to know that too boys." Pinako mentioned, lighting her pipe and taking in a deep breath of the smoke. Edward shuffled awkwardly in his seat; he'd let Al explain again.

"Well, this news has taken different effects on us. I want to get to know Riza, and let her be my mother. But Ed...well, he didn't take the news that well. To put it short, he doesn't want her in his life anymore." Alphonse hastily explained briefly.

"And, one of the reasons we came to Risembool was, to, you know, ask what you two think." Edward stuttered. Very rarely would he ask for an opinion from others, so it was hard when he did. Both of the Rockbell's were silent in thought for a few seconds before Winry first spoke.

"Well there's no point in you forcing yourself in her company if you find it hard. You just need time to heal emotionally." Winry offered. Alphonse nodded and Edward smiled a barely noticeable smile before looking at Pinako.

"What do you think Granny?"

"Hmm, give yourself time. Now let Winry fix your arm, she keeps staring at it and it really is bugging me." Pinako grumbled. Winry dragged Edward by his human hand to the tune-up desk to fix her work.

"Really Ed, you're such a klutz! Stop being so wreck less!" Winry complained, tinkering with his arm. But he wasn't listening, as his snoring proved. He hadn't slept well for the last couple of weeks, but now he was back in his home town, some of his worry somehow went of his shoulders by being back in a familiar and comfortable place.

Winry looked at the snoring boy and couldn't help but smile fondly at him.

"Oh Ed...You're more venerable than you let on." She whispered as she carried on repairing the damaged auto mail.

* * *

"Promise me you'll look after your arm right? Only you could trash it that much so quickly..." Winry mumbled to herself as she was seeing the boys off at the train station.

"Hey Ed, Al?"

They both looked at her. "What is it?" Alphonse asked.

"Don't do anything to Riza you'll regret, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Edward dismissed what she said with a wave of his hand. "Whatever." She glared at Edward.

"Really I mean it. You're lucky, you have your mother, yet you can so easily brush her off..." Winry looked like she was going to burst into tears. Edward awkwardly wrapped his auto mail arm around her shoulder.

"Really Winry, I promise I won't do anything I'll regret."

She beamed at him just as their train pulled into the station. Both of the Elric brothers jumped onto the train quickly just before it pulled out of the station. After a few minutes of silence on the train, Alphonse asked Edward "Will you really try?"

He was met with silence for a few minutes before Edward answered "I don't know what to do just yet. I'll try what Winry and Granny said, but I can't guarantee anything."

If Alphonse had his body, he would've been smiling. After all, he was at least considering the notion of accepting her, unlike with Hoenheim.

* * *

"Back in Central again Al. I swear these trains aren't helping my back." Edward complained, rubbing his back as he hopped off the train. Alphonse laughed at his brother as he too stepped off the train. They were walking of the platform when Edward suddenly stopped, making Alphonse walk into him.

"Alphonse, hide me. Hide me fast." Edward whispered, but it was too late.

"YOUNG ELRICS! SO GLAD TO SEE YOU HAVE ARRIVED IN CENTRAL ONCE MORE!" Armstrong boomed, easily moving through the flock of people to get to the Elric brothers.

"Major, what the hell are you doing here? I'm pretty damn sure I can navigate through Central myself!" Edward shouted at the giant in front of him.

"I am not here to escort you Edward-"

"Oh thank _god_." Edward interrupted, sounding relieved and placing his hand on his heart. "For a second, you scared me there."

"Edward, is that any way to speak to your elder? No, Mustang sent me here as he has a mission for you. Let us go to Headquarters so you can receive your mission!" Armstrong shouted, walking off to Headquarters.

"Mustang better have a good mission, or my right fist will take great delight in being acquainted with his pretty-boy face." Edward growled under his breath, clenching his auto-mail fist.

* * *

_Muahahaha, I think that most people that you guys will probably hate me for what happens next chapter...but you can only wait until then to see it!_

_-AEW Alchemist_


	6. Chapter 6

"The mission I want you to go on Fullmetal is by no means too much of a challenge for you," Mustang began briefing Edward and Alphonse on the mission they were about to embark on, "There is a mad serial killer roaming around our streets named Isaac McDougal, and he used to be a State Alchemist, the Freezing Alchemist. His recent activities have been working together with rebel groups who wish to oppose the State, and naturally we can't allow that to happen, can we?" Mustang asked, Edward nodding, "He may or may not be armed with a gun, we can't tell by the reports. We know that at the moment he is loose within Central City. I want you and Alphonse to go and try and stop him."

"Right," Edward agreed, stretching his arms, "Doesn't sound like it'll be too hard, does it Al?"

"No, we should be able to handle it fine," Alphonse agreed.

There was a knock on the door to Mustang's office.

"Come in," Mustang called, and it was revealed that Riza was on the other side of that door. She walked into the room, and simply stated "I'm going with them."

"What do you mean?" Edward asked, dislike in his voice as he turned away from her, "Why would we need _your _help anyway?"

"Ed!" Al warned, "Besides, the more help we have, the quicker this whole thing'll be over with, isn't that right? "

"Al's right Fullmetal," Mustang loftily stated, rubbing a strand of his hair between his fingers, "Lieutenant Hawkeye will be accompanying you two on your mission."

Edward grumbled but didn't put up a fight, and walked out the office, Alphonse following after him. Riza looked at Mustang.

"Thank you Sir," She saluted him before catching up with her sons.

* * *

The three of them walked down what felt like the fiftieth street to them, and there was still no sign of the Freezing Alchemist. Also, due to the fact that it was beginning to get dark, it would only be a matter of time before they would be able to have good vision.

"We'll never catch him at this rate," Alphonse sighed, finding that the current street they were on had no occupants in it.

"I agree," Riza agreed, rubbing her forehead.

"The only way that we'll be able to find this ice weirdo is if we split up," Edward matter-of-factly stated, "It'll get dark soon, so we don't really have much of a choice."

"You're right," Riza commented, "Okay, you boys go check the Southern part of Central and I'll check the Northern area myself."

"Will you be alright on your own?" Alphonse concernedly asked. Riza smiled at him.

"Please, I have more than enough experience in self-defence," She took out her pistol from her shoulder-holster, "But you guys stay safe."

"Right," Alphonse replied. Edward made a grunting noise. Riza walked down the street and went her own way. The two boys continued their mission in silence for a few minutes before Alphonse hesitantly stated "You don't hate her as much now."

There was silence on Edward's behalf for a minute before he replied "Never hated her at first. I was just mad. Now I've had some time to think about stuff...now I'm not as mad as I was," Edward simply replied, not wanting to make a big deal about it.

"I see..." Alphonse whispered. Edward stopped working and turned to face his little brother.

"Don't tell her, alright?" Edward asked, "I ain't good with all that emotion crap, and don't want to change anything yet."

Alphonse nodded, understanding how his brother's pride worked.

* * *

On the Northern area of Central City, Riza was stealthily making her way down the streets, and double checking them and any suspicious-looking building as she made her way through the city.

'_Still no sign of him_,' She thought to herself, '_I hope the boys don't have to deal with him...what am I doing? I'm not the type to worry, and they can handle themselves. Just calm down and look for Mc Dougal. My boys will be fine._ _Edward's been acting better lately. I hope he's changing his mind.' _She kicked open an abandoned house's door and fully checked the house before confirming the Freezing Alchemist wasn't occupying it and continued her search.

Meanwhile, the Elrics were checking a rather dark looking street. The night was nearly completely pitch-black, so they couldn't see well in the first place. Alphonse walked down that street, and it was particularly lucky that he should, as there was a wave of scalding hot water washing down that street. Alphonse instinctively picked up his brother, and shielded his brother from the water. The worst that happened to Alphonse's armour was that it was scorching, but nothing too serious. Alphonse put down his brother.

"Thanks," Edward thanked his brother while he clapped his hands on the floor and made two walls block both of the exits in the street.

"Who the hell are you and why are you trying to kill us?" Edward shouted down the street, as all they could see was a shadowy figure standing. The shadow figure moved forward, and both of the boys saw Isaac McDougal. A rather burly man, with a twisted look in his eye and a twitchy hand which looked like it was trying to reach for a gun. What seemed odd to the Elrics was that this man, traitor to Amestris, was wearing a military uniform.

"You're a dog from the military," McDougal rasped, pointing accursedly at the pocket watch chain that was attached to Edward's belt, "Obviously you want to take me to the prison. Well I can't let you do that can I!" McDougal strided up to Edward, and grabbed his auto mail arm. The transmutation circles on his arms began to glow, and Edward's sleeve suddenly disintegrated, the auto mail left somewhat burned.

"You ruined my coat," Edward menacingly said as he pulled his coat off, tossing it to the side of the street. McDougal moved away from Edward in shock.

"An auto mail arm," McDougal whispered in shock, "And a State Alchemist protégé. The Fullmetal Alchemist."

"Got that right," Edward clapped his hands, pulling a detailed gothic spear from out of the ground and pointing it at McDougal. Alphonse stayed near his brother and getting into a fighting stance, just in case McDougal tried to burn Edward.

McDougal charged at them, and made the water which was in the streets be transmuted into spears made of ice and fired them at Edward, who was charging at McDougal. Alphonse quickly moved in front of the ice spears to shield his brother, who went around Alphonse and began to lunge at McDougal with his spear. McDougal grabbed his human arm and was about to make the water hot enough to scald Edward's flesh off when Alphonse transmuted the walls from two buildings to hold McDougal in place, allowing Edward to escape from McDougal's clutches.

"Don't you know what the military's plans are?" McDougal cried in anger, trying to reach into his pocket, but finding it a near impossible task.

"What're you talking about?" Edward asked him, transmuting his spear back into the ground. Isaac spat near Edward's feet.

"They're going to betray this country!" McDougal hysterically cried, struggling about more, 'And you dogs of the military are using you for their goals!"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT DAMNIT!" Edward shouted, getting pissed off with McDougal. Isaac clapped his hands together after much struggling, and made a huge wave of hot water charge at Edward. Alphonse, being the alert person he is, picked up Edward, saving him from the water. He put down Edward, who transmuted a pipe lying on the floor around his hands, making it impossible for McDougal to move his hands. Edward also removed both the walls which were blocking the streets so that the police would be able to see them when they finally arrived.

"The higher ups are plotting," McDougal said, anger evident in his voice, "But...if I team up with you, we can stop them! What do you say?"

It was Edward's turn to spit at McDougal's feet.

"Sorry, but I kinda like the military and everyone there," Edward replied, "Besides, I need to search for something important."

"The higher ups are using Philosopher's Stones," McDougal revealed, earning all of Edward's attention, "You have no idea about the power they possess."

Just then a group of police officers showed up and aimed their rifles at McDougal, Riza included.

"Fullmetal Alchemist, Alphonse Elric, you have done your job," A police officer called to them, "Please remove the wall and handcuffs from Isaac McDougal and step out of the way, and we'll take over." Alphonse removed the walls with alchemy, and Edward dealt with the handcuffs.

"You sure kid?" McDougal grunted.

"I only work with my brother," Edward whispered back, stepping away from Isaac once he was done. McDougal grinned a psychotic type of grin, and instantly reached for inside his pocket.

"Sad to hear that!" McDougal shouted as he shot a round at Edward.

It hit him mere millimetres away from his heart.

Edward collapsed to the ground, panting and blood pouring from the wound and dripping from his mouth.

"EDWARD!" Riza and Alphonse screamed, rushing over to where he was. Alphonse held Edward while Riza picked up Edward's jacket from the floor and pressed it against both sides of the wound to try and prevent the bleeding. Edward was fading out of consciousness, and fast. A ambulance pulled up in the street, and Alphonse and Riza worked together to put him in it. Slamming doors behind her, Riza kneeled by Edward as the ambulance took off down the street and the paramedics dealt with Edward. She didn't notice the tears that were falling from her cheeks.

"Edward, it's going to be okay," She tried to determinedly say, while grabbing for his human hand. Edward lightly squeezed it back, his eyes opening slightly.

"Al...Riza," He began to say, stopping to cough, "I love you both...so much."

Alphonse made wailing noises and shouted in panic, Riza with tears rolling down her face as they made their way to the hospital, praying to whoever would hear them for Edward to be okay.

* * *

_I knew you guys wouldn't like me for what I did to Edward D:_

_My left hand is completely numb, this is the fastest I've ever typed...like ever! But I hope this chapter entertained you, and sorry for the lame action scene, that's why I always avoid trying to write any fighting -.-_

_FMA and Facebook will be getting an update next!_

_-AEW Alchemist_


	7. Chapter 7

As soon as the ambulance had arrived at the hospital, the nurses which were in the ambulance sprung into action. They picked up Edward, who was lying unconscious on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face, and carried him straight into the hospital, Alphonse and Riza just a few paces behind them (they didn't want to get in their way).

"Alright, take him to Operation Room 7," A nurse who was standing outside of the hospital called to the nurses as soon as she saw who they were. The nurses nodded and rushed into the hospital, where they put Edward on a bed with wheels attached on it and they rushed out of the sight of Riza and Alphonse. A doctor walked over to Riza and Alphonse, and motioned for them to sit down on the sofa in the waiting room. Both of them did and sat in silence (though Riza was crying, it was muffled by her).

"I'm Doctor Harrison," The doctor introduced himself. There was no response.

"Right, I'll explain what will happen to Edward," Dr. Harrison said gently, "Now we're taking him to an operation room where he'll be made unconscious so we can inspect the wound the bullet made and then clean up the wound before stitching it up as best as we can, putting bandages over the wound and placing him in one of the wards where he can rest."

"So he'll definitely..." Alphonse asked, although he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"If the bullet hasn't hit any major artery then there is an eighty five percent survive rate," Dr. Harrison had a sad smile on his face, "It depends on his tolerance for pain."

"He'll live," Riza looked up, wiping her eyes, "He's gone through so much pain."

"Right," Dr. Harrison got up, "I'll keep you posted about what's happening."

The waiting was painful for Alphonse and Riza. At first the two of them tried to talk, but that didn't help them, so they just waited in silence, checking the clock every so often –half an hour, an hour, two hours and still no word from Doctor Harrison.

Three hours-which felt like an eternity of dread and worry for Alphonse and Riza- after they had arrived at hospital, Dr. Harrison finally approached Riza and Alphonse, who both got out of their seats in haste and rushed over to the doctor.

"Well?" Alphonse and Riza simultaneously asked.

"Well about Edward," The doctor began.

TWO WEEKS LATER

There were flowers all over the place from people who knew Edward Elric. Roses, lilies, daffodils and more were spread all over the place in jars. Edward was quite surprised by this as he hoped that he gave out a tough enough composure that he didn't seem like a person you'd by flowers for, but he wasn't too fussed. The wound still gave out a sharp pain whenever he tried to move so for the moment he was stuck in his bed. Of course this made him fidgety, and he couldn't wait until he was allowed to start moving again. Only one thing managed to take Edward's mind of his pain.

"Hey brother," Alphonse opened the door, holding an alchemy book so Edward could at least try and study while in the hospital. Riza followed in behind Edward's brother holding a box of chocolates for the boy-her son.

"Hey Alphonse, Riza," Edward greeted them as they made their way to his bedside, leaving their gifts on his bedside table.

"How are you feeling today Edward?" Riza asked, sitting down on the chair placed at his bed, Alphonse doing the same.

"Better I guess," Edward tried to sit up but had to lie down after the sharp pain came back in his wound, "But it sucks that I can barely move. These rooms are just so dull y'know? Visitors are the only interesting thing that I have to look forward to each day."

"By the looks of all the flowers, looks like you've already had a lot of visitors," Alphonse pointed out.

This was true-Gracia and Elysia Hughes had visited (along with an apple pie that made Edward's day), all of Mustang's crew including the Colonel who poked a little fun at Edward but still wished him the best. Even Winry came from Risembool to see him (though she did cry after seeing Edward not being able to get up, she seemed better than usual as he just needed to recover). Riza and Alphonse visited twice a day to check up on him.

"I guess," Edward yawned, "But what's happening without me in the military?"

"Well less people have gone to the infirmary in search of aspirins," Riza smiled, "But everybody misses having you around. It's like you bought light to all of them."

"That so?" Edward grinned.

"Brother, what's gonna happen once you're better and leave the hospital?" Alphonse hesitantly asked. Alphonse didn't want to bring up the subject of moving in with Riza so soon, but he couldn't help but be curious to his brother's response. There was silence for a minute or so.

"Well in case my stitches open, I guess we have no choice," Edward grinned at Riza, "Care to have us staying with you?"

"Of course," Riza instantly accepted, smiling back.

"After everything's healed, we'll have to see what happens," Edward pointed out, "You never know, if you have a nice place, you'll be stuck with us for a long time."

Riza laughed, saying "I guess there's no other choice."

Alphonse was so happy at Edward's change of heart that he began laughing and hugged Riza and patted his brother's arm.

"This is so great!" Alphonse exclaimed. Edward couldn't help but get a smile on his face that he couldn't get rid of after seeing how happy his younger brother was.

"Yeah, guess it is," Edward smiled. He then pushed himself up with his arms and got it so his back was leaning on the head of the bed. It only hurt him a little bit.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Alphonse asked.

"Well, no one's watching," Edward pointed out, "And this feels like the perfect moment for it. Group hug?"

Riza moved over to Edward's left side while Alphonse stayed on Edward's right and they both leant in and all hugged each other.

"Hm, hugs aren't as weird as I thought they'd be," Edward noted once it finished.

"Doctors told me that I should be able to leave in three days," Edward told Alphonse and Riza, "So Al, does that give you enough time to move some of the stuff from our dorm to Riza's apartment?"

"You can count on me brother," Alphonse confidently said as he got up and walked to the door, "I'll start now. I'll come by again in the afternoon brother."

"Bye Al," Edward called to him. Riza turned to Edward now that only them two were alone.

"Thank you Edward," Riza smiled.

"Eh, what for?" Edward asked, stretching his arm.

"For trusting me," Riza replied, "For letting me look after you. For forgiving me for leaving you."

"I already heard what happened when we were younger," Edward pointed out, "I heard you tell Al. It's not your fault. And besides, once you've been shot and put in danger, grudges don't usually stay. All of that happened in the past right?" Edward smiled at her, "So let's just start afresh."

"Sure," Riza replied.

What none of them noticed was a person who had witnessed the whole event and was now hiding on the other side of the door.

"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Armstrong wiped his eyes before walking away.

* * *

_I sincerely wanted to make this ending longer, but I wanted it to end here._

_One of the reasons I wanted to originally write this story was because last New Year's me and my father got into a huge fight. Only a couple of weeks ago I made up with him. All the anger I held at my own dad I put into Edward and he projected it onto Riza. And the story had a happy ending because my anger finished :) in a way that makes it seem like it was a self-insert, so I apologise for that._

_-AEW Alchemist_


End file.
